For some time now, excesses have been increasingly present in Italian opera, especially Neapolitan opera, and coupled with the prevailing attitude of singers that they need an opera where they can show their consummate skills (colourations, high notes, improvisations that do not always work, etc.) has created. … A stream of rejectionEspecially in intellectual circles that lack the principles that drive them Florentine camera Respecting the word and putting music at its service.
Many voices have been calling for change for years. Marcelo, Arteaga, Algarotti And even some Neapolitans, e.g Traita and Gumeli. He was Gluck Who arrived where they did not arrive Lolly and Ramohe managed to write two reference works: “Orpheus and Eurydice” and “Alceste”where he exposes Gluck in the introduction to the latter Principles of its reform.
Glock himself made the revisions, specifically Parma The role of Orfeo was assigned to a ‘castrato’ soprano, so we do not understand it to be the chosen version, Bartoli being a mezzo-soprano, a register more suitable for the role of a man. Before he goes on stage, we hear A “introduction” Which immediately associated us with a wonderful orchestra, with a sound that is difficult to describe, but perhaps the closest term is vibrant, not only because of the initial dotted, tearing rhythm, but because of colors that we do not remember having heard before, like water before it boils, like a sonorous trembling in the strings. It did not take long for those responsible for the instruments to explain the emergence of the magic of this sound.
And in this it appeared Bartoli With a sharp, unusual and worrying “vibration”, which made us fear the worst. But little by little it faded away until the end, when it reappeared with no less than “Che Farò senza Eurídice,” in which it seems to us to have carried such a thin thread of sound, that the middle voice was not interrupted. It turns out once again that serious issues are not yet fully resolved (we already said that in 2003 when he visited us) and time usually does not improve these matters. However, it seems to us to have increased in size, especially in the centre, delimiting the triptych and at the same time gaining dramatic power. Fortunately, he encountered “Chiamo il mio ben” right after the start with a variety of resources. Fill it with passion, tenderness or the energy of despair, but without falling into nonsense.
Melissa Beattie (Eurydice and Amour) and Cecilia Bartoli (Orfeo)
On his side were the young and the worthy Melissa BettyFirstly In the name of “Love” and then in the name of EurydiceWith a round, very careful voice, of a beautiful, even tone, with theatrical skills as well and did not shrink before the legend of Bartoli. Few opportunities to check his hat-trick, which was very limited in the reform, but the ones he did provide looked as strong as in the central area; Likewise, there were no colorations either, so sectional singing was present in both women, which meant a different expression than singing about the lightness of the voice and the need to emphasize the essential words of the text. It was clear that he felt comfortable in both roles.
If we talked about the overall orchestral results, the inclusion of A Fortepiano as the “alter-ego” of the harpsichord (Davide Pozzi) It gave rise to spatiality, in the same way that machines emerged from the scene as an echo. It seems that from the inclusion of the lyre as a symbol of Orpheus’ lyre, it seems that the idea spread to the rest of the French orchestras. Marta Graziolino played this legendary instrument, sometimes with integrity and sometimes with delicacy. Finally, we highlight the presence of soloists such as Jean-Marc Gougeonwith Traverso securing his place as soloist for many years in the orchestra for its cleanliness, evocative power and warmth… and after we heard the oboist directly Pier Luigi Fabretti He has given us another song that is sensitive and lyrically extraordinary. We could go on, not just in quality, but in organic curiosities, such as the massive trombone displayed by Brass. But we don’t know what to say about the percussionist. During that stormy musical moment, in addition to the wind instrument, cymbals and drum, a “storm plate” (“Lampi e fulmine” in Italian opera) was used, with a deafening sound, certainly exceeding the permissible decibel amount and the resistance of our eardrums. On the other hand, the honorary registration of the orchestra conductor Jacopo Facchiniunless he is responsible for the size of the storm drummer; In this case, because it did not last long, it would remain suspended.
It was a joy Chorus of “El Canto d’Orfeo”has an almost unreal sonic beauty. They were able to often surprise us with pianissimos that started almost inaudibly and sometimes reached fort, always with a wonderful harmony of timbre and sound balance (even though we were on one side).
The music is beautiful, but the plot conforms to the constant music of the opera, which is why it is rarely performed, or at most this semi-theatrical version is reached, so it is appreciated Resources that ease or make the development of an argument more flexiblesuch as strategically placed lights, candles in the choir or the location on the Champs-Élysées, making Orfeo/Bartoli go from Avernus’ black suit to the white of the Elysée. Or the red color of love/Cupid, although this is more obvious.
Specifically, this character ends up being anecdotal by suppressing Gluck’s ending, because it is Cupid who takes pity on the couple due to Orpheus’s perseverance in love and revives Eurydice. They both return to their land where their people receive them with joy.
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